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Derry, Maine-
You’ve been here a lot longer than most people think, looking like someone in their mid 20’s…but that’s far from the truth. You were…well over a hundred years old truly, but why? Humans can’t live for as long as you have, let alone look that young. Well, the answer was the beast that slept below Derry. Pennywise, IT, Robert “Bob” Grey…he took many names, many faces. That was just one of the many confusing things about him.
Pennywise, for as much simplicity as you can get, was a creature you met when you were TRULY 25 years old.
You encountered him during his year of hunting…honestly…a lot of things were a blur that year. And really, it’s been so long that you forgot how you even came to love that monster. But at the same time, you wonder how you became the only thing with a heartbeat that it gave a shit about. What you did understand was that Pennywise was a terrible, evil, and sadistic creature. Yes, he does that to survive…but you always thought he took it too far in some instances but knew he enjoyed it at the same time.
But…it’s not your place to judge an otherworldly eldritch shapeshifting horror.
You knew he loved you…in his own way. Pennywise loved not in the way a human does, not with empathy or a feeling of mutual connection. Not a feeling of equality, vulnerability, nothing like that. No, Pennywise loved more like an animal meant to leave after the reproduction process was finished yet stuck around anyway. Pennywise’s love showed as possession, a claim over your life, anger towards any possible “threat” to you being its mate and bothering you none stop when he wasn’t hunting.
You’ve grown used to his tricks at this point, every 27 years when you see him, he still tries to scare you. Sometimes he’s successful, but you’ve grown old and apathetic enough that you have stopped caring about fear. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t killed you yet, without fear you wouldn’t taste as good, so he just doesn’t bother. Whatever the true reason was, he’s never truly hurt you…well…not in an aggressive trying to kill you way. No, like…like how bites and scratches is the only way a beast knows how to show physical love.
You’ve stopped questioning it, he eases your loneliness for the year he’s awake. Can’t really make friends when you’ll just outlive them and they’ll question why you don’t look a day over 25 when they’re old and wrinkly. He’s the one constant you got, perhaps that’s his own sadistic humor towards you too.
You have no one who’ll remain by your side. No one but him…
But in a strange way…you didn’t mind.